Cambridge-Lee Industries LLC

Press Release

Reading, PA, July 11, 2014 --(PR.com)-- Cambridge-Lee Industries LLC, a copper-focused manufacturer and distributor for the Plumbing, HVAC, Industrial and OEM markets, headquartered in Reading, PA was honored May 7, 2014 by the Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeastern Pennsylvania with its Manufacturing AchievementInnovation Award. Ben Franklin presented the award to Cambridge-Lee at its annual iXchange event, which attracted more than 500 guests.

“Receiving this manufacturing award from Ben Franklin shows the commitment and dedication of our employees to go above and beyond in maintaining excellence in manufacturing to serve our customers' needs,” said Andrea Funk, CEO of Cambridge-Lee. Our recent achievements include the installation of our new best-in-class ACR, Oxygen/Medical cleaning system that produces tubing which far exceeds ASTM standards and our operating culture of manufacturing best practices; the commissioning of our new world class cast & roll production facility and optimization of our new lineset operations; and the customization initiatives in our Industrial Metals Division.”

ACR, Oxygen/Medical Cleaning System and Manufacturing Best PracticesOne of Cambridge-Lee’s most recent endeavors is the installation of a new cleaning system for cleaned and capped ACR, Oxygen/Medical Gas copper tubing, along with the re-design of plugs developed to maintain the ID cleanness that is essential for this product line success. “Our tubing has always met the cleanliness requirements to specification,” said Leslie Shearer, VP of Operations at Cambridge-Lee. “This new and improved system is now operational and enhances our capabilities to ensure our customers receive a quality product that will more than satisfy all industry applications.

Also spear-headed by Shearer is the roll-out of manufacturing best practices in 5S, lean, ISO and root cause analysis for the company’s Plumbing, lineset, and Industrial OEM tubing production. “We are driving lean principles direct onto the manufacturing floor and involving our operators in the process to be accountable on key metrics in the areas of safety, delivery, cost, quality and innovation, and to obtain their hands-on valuable input for continuous improvement efforts.”

Eagle Cast & Roll and Lineset Operations“In October 2013 Cambridge-Lee started producing micro-fin thin-wall copper tubes in our new 195,000 square-foot cast & roll facility for use primarily in the commercial HVAC market,” said Phil Pope, VP of Industrial OEM Sales. “These tubes are highly energy-efficient to meet requirements that will enable us to expand our footprint in the HVAC business.”

"Also, to leverage the success of implementing Cambridge-Lee employees’ resourceful ideas for all product segments, our lineset operation was relocated to our corporate headquarters in February 2013," said Dave Zellers, VP of Plumbing Sales. "This has enabled us to be more effective in responding tocustomers in securing business for both the plumbing and HVAC markets with a faster pay-off system that shortens lead times for customer shipments.”

Industrial Metal DivisionAs manufacturers look for innovative way to reduce costs and improve the quality of their products, Cambridge-Lee’s Industrial Metals Division (IMD) is also taking an active role in seeking out product and process enhancements to help customers reach their goals. Dan Erck, Executive Vice President of IMD states, “Customers are seeking ways to reduce their costs, so they rely on us to come up with innovative ways to deliver products for specific needs.” IMD functions as a nationwide service center in selling value-added copper-focused products. Erck continues, “Communication and collaboration werethe keys to our being named by Metal Center News in 2013 as one of the industry’s top 50 service centers in North America. Further, we have a unique advantage over other distributors because of the relationship with our parent company, IUSA. Our manufacturing background and access to IUSA's extensive production capabilities allow us to develop manufacturing processes and product enhancements that give our customers a competitive edge."

"It was such an honor for an industrial manufacturing and distribution company like Cambridge-Lee to be recognized by Ben Franklin along with high-tech businesses in fields like nano-technology and biotechnology. Ben Franklin has been a great resource and partner to Cambridge-Lee and other PA businesses," says Funk. "While we may have been manufacturing copper tubes in the USA since the turn of the century, thanks to the contributions of our dedicated employees, it's certainly not the same old business here at Cambridge-Lee."